Where It All Began (Aoko's Life: Book 1)
by LovingAnime97
Summary: Aoko is a girl with many powers. She can use magic, grow a tail and sprout wings! Upon moving back to her birthplace after several years, she meets a group of people who she quickly befriends. Then there's that boy. The one with blue hair who makes her heart jump, who seems to care for her but hides behind a mask, as if protecting her from something. But what? UNDER CONSTRUCTION.
1. Chapter 1

I was walking in a forest full of tall trees and bushes surrounding me. A white light was in front of me, so I ran to it as fast as I could. But no matter how fast I ran, the light was always out of reach. I fell down on my knees in frustration, and screamed loudly. Suddenly, several voices called out to me, voices as soft and beckoning as the wind, calling me towards them. I ran towards the voices, in the direction of the light, and I made it through. And on the other side was. . . was. . .

Well, I never found out, because my alarm clock went off.

"Stupid alarm clock."

I muttered as I turned off the buzzing sound.

'But still. . .'

I thought, as I slipped my legs over the side of my bed,

'It was that dream again. Ever since I moved here, that dream has haunted me.'

I shrugged, brushing off the dream and my thoughts, and got dressed for school. Even though it was only half seven and school didn't start until nine, I felt like getting up early and exploring before school started. After getting dressed into my new school uniform, I went downstairs and had some cereal, and left the house at eight o'clock with my books, schoolbag and all my other necessities.

I strolled around the town, taking in my surroundings, as usual. Everyone in town knew me, since I had lived here for so long, and they all treated me nicely.

"Morning, Aoko!"

Mr. Gregory, the owner of the local grocery store shouted as he unpacked the food from the boxes they were being stored in.

"Good morning, Mr. Gregory!"

I shouted back, smiling. After about ten minutes of walking, I sat down on a swing at a park about five minutes away from school. I hummed to myself as I swung back and forth, back and forth. . . and then I saw him. A boy around my age with blue-ish white hair and glasses, reading a book while standing at the wall near the entrance to the park. He looked up from his book when he noticed I was staring at him, taking in his features, noting his appearance in my mind. He nodded at me curtly and went back to his book, while I nodded back slowly and looked away, getting off of the swing and heading back to school, passing him along the way.

When I passed him, a cold breeze surrounded me, causing me to shiver slightly as I walked. He may have noticed, he may have not. I don't know. I don't know because I didn't look back, even though I was extremely curious about him. Not even once.

At half eight, after looking around the school, getting my schedule and memorizing which rooms I had to go to and when, I sat down in my homeroom class and took out a book I had started reading a few days ago, and picked up where I left off. A minute after I took it out and started reading, a boy with spiky brown hair and brown eyes barged into the room, causing me to drop my book out of shock. I slowly picked it up again, resumed my position on my seat, and stared at the strange boy before me, my head cocked to the side in confusion

"You are. . .?"

I asked, curious as to what he was doing here. He looked at me strangely, looking me up and down.

"Ah,"

He said eventually,

"You must be the new girl."

"Y-Yes,"

I answered, annoyed that he hadn't answered my question,

"I'm Aoko."

"I'm Takeshi,"

He grinned,

"Takeshi Saehara. Nice to meet you!"

I smiled sweetly at him, saying,

"It's nice to meet you too, Takeshi. But. . ."

I wondered,

"What are you doing here so early?"

"Oh, I'm on cleaning this morning, so I have to tidy the classroom before the others come. What about you?"

"I decided to have a look around. You know, getting used to the new school and all."

I explained, and he nodded as if he understood.

"Do you need some help?"

I asked Takeshi as he took out the broom from the closet at the back of the room to clean up.

"Ah, no, it's alright."

He said, but his face said that he really didn't want to to this, so I helped him anyway. As soon as we started cleaning, another boy barged into the classroom, accidentally tripping and falling onto the floor.

"You're late, Daisuke!"

Takeshi shouted at the boy who had tripped and was now getting off the ground back onto his feet.

"S-Sorry, Saehara. I overslept."

He stuttered, making up an excuse.

"Ah. . . You are. . .?"

He asked me as he looked at me

"I. . . I'm Aoko. Nice to meet you."

I stuttered as I answered. He smiled sweetly at me then and said,

" I'm Daisuke Niwa. Nice to meet you, too."

I stared at him, taking in his features. Spiky red hair and deep red eyes. Clumsy character.

'But he seems like a nice boy. . .'

I thought as he smiled at Takeshi and began sweeping. When he walked past me, a strange, yet familiar aura covered him, like the boy I had seen earlier, but different somehow.

'I'll have to watch out for those two.'

I noted in my mind as I helped them clean.

At quarter to nine, a few more students started to come into the room, preparing for class. The boy who I had met earlier in the park came in first, sitting down in a seat in the middle of the room while unpacking his books. He noticed I was there, and we both stared at each other for a moment, before Takeshi's shout broke the trance.

"Younger Harada! Older Harada! Over here!"

He shouted while waving over to two twins who had just entered the room, who began to walk towards us.

"Geez, Saehara,"

The one with short red hair said,

"No need to shout. We're only across the classroom."

"Ah,sorry."

Takeshi apologized, scratching the back of his neck with a nervous laugh,

"Anyway, Haradas, this is the new student."

He said while pointing at me, as I introduced myself. I learnt that the one with long brown hair was Risa Harada, and the one with short hair was Riku Harada, twin sisters who lived near my house - only a few blocks away.

I was introduced at every class, which annoyed me, but it was over eventually. By the end of the day, I had befriended Takeshi, Daisuke, Risa and Riku. I also found out about the boy I had met in the park, his name was Satoshi Hiwatari. All of the girls seemed to have a crush on either him or this 'Phantom Thief Dark' character that Risa is obsessed with. She tried to get me to come with her to one of his thefts, but I declined, saying that I had lots of things to do tonight, and walked home ahead of them. When I got home it was 4 o'clock, so I made a headstart on my homework. When I finished it was already 6 o'clock, so I had a quick shower, got dressed into a black skirt and a black tank top, and sat down at the television and watched the news, which announced that:

"Two Phantom Thieves, Dark and Precious, were going to steal the Angel's Jewel at 9 'clock tonight".

I grinned, turning off the TV before looking at the clock, which now read ten minutes past seven.

'More than an hour, huh.'

I sighed as I stood up and went upstairs, opening the window and looking outside. I sighed again softly as I looked out the window, the breeze brushing against my face, and the moon's light shining towards me.

"Such a nice evening."

I whispered as I looked around the neighbourhood. I looked down below me and saw a figure pausing at my door. I was about to shout out to the figure to come in when I realised who it was.

"Satoshi. . ?"

I whispered as I stared down at him. As if he could feel my presence, he looked directly at me, and we stared at each other for what felt like eternity.

He turned around after a minute or two and headed in the opposite direction of my house, towards the museum.

Ah, by the way, one thing I forgot to mention. That other Phantom Thief, Precious?

Yeah, that's me.

I steal things from museums to seal the evil auras within them, and afterwards I return them again, without anyone noticing. After watching him walk away until he turned around a corner, I looked at the clock again, which now read half past seven.

'I felt that aura again. . . that white presence surrounding him.'

I thought as I went downstairs and locked the front door as I walked outside, headed in the direction of the museum, even though I still had a long time before I really needed to go there. At least, I thought I was headed to the museum.

I was so lost in thought that before I realised it, I had ended up in front of a huge white house that looked more like a mansion. I stared at it for a few moments, taking in the look of the multiple rooms and the two storeys of the building that towered in front of me, before I turned around to continue walking. Before I could move, I heard the door to the house open and closed behind me, so I turned around again. and what I saw there shocked me slightly.

'Hey, hey, hey, are you kidding me?'

I thought as I stared at Satoshi yet again, who looked at me with the same expression I held.

"What are you doing here?"

He asked with a voice as cold as ice.

"A-Ah, I-I was just out for a walk, and I ended up here."

I stuttered while looking at him.

"I see,"

He said monotonely as he nodded,

"Well, I suggest that you be on your way."

"A-Ah, yes! Well, see you at school tomorrow!"

I smiled as I turned round again and ran as quickly as I could. After running for about ten minutes, I checked my watch as I slowed down to a walk. It read 8 o'clock. As I looked up from my watch I saw a house that looked the same as the rest in the neighbourhood, but felt different. The nameplate at the front of the house read 'Niwa'.

'The Niwa house, huh. . . Daisuke Niwa.'

I thought as I looked at the house,

'How funny, that I would end up at the houses of two tamers who are friends, but whose Black Wings parts hate each other.'

I laughed slightly and started to walk away, when a strange banging noise from inside the house caught my attention.

'What the hell? What're they doing in there?'

I almost exclaimed as I went into the house.

"Sorry for intruding, sorry for intruding, sorry for intruding,"

I whispered over and over as I dodged the various traps in the house, which I expected - it was, after all, the house of a notorious Phantom Thief.

Eventually I reached the living room, where the entire Niwa family stared at me with shocked expressions.

"S-Sorry for intruding,"

I apologised, my voice a small whisper,

"B-But I heard a loud noise and got worried, so. . ."

My sentence faded, and Daisuke's mom smiled at me, her hazel eyes shining, and said,

"Oh, it's alright, dear. That was just my son falling down the stairs again.'

"Your son. . .?"

I pondered, cocking my head to the side in confusion,

"Ah, you mean Daisuke?"

I asked, and she nodded.

"That's right. He's upstairs right now. Ah, could it be you're the new girl Daisuke was talking about?"

"Y-Yes, that's me. I'm Aoko. Nice to meet you."

I curtsied slightly as the family introduced themselves. There was Emiko, Daisuke's mother. Then, there was Daisuke's father, Kosuke. And there was also Daisuke's grandfather, Daiki. I smiled and excused myself before dashing up the stairs, with Emiko's consent, stopping halfway once I heard them talking. They repeated my name over quite a bit before I dropped in on the conversation;

What can I say?

I'm a curious person.

"She got past the traps I prepared without setting off the alarm."

Emiko whispered, and I could imagine a questioning look on her face.

"What do you think of her?"

Daisuke's grandfather asked, and a long silence passed before a reply finally came.

"I think we should look at her for another bit. If she shows certain qualities, we ask her."

Kosuke answered, deep in thought. They all agreed, and I continued up the stairs, knocking on Daisuke's door as I reached the top of the stairs.

"Ah, excuse me."

I said as I opened the door slightly and put my head through the crack. Something made a loud 'BANG' sound, but when I looked around, there was nobody there.

I went into the bedroom and looked around properly, but there was nobody there. I heard something creak very quietly behind me, so quiet that if I hadn't trained myself to become a Phantom Thief, then I probably wouldn't have heard it. When the creaking sound came close enough to me, I turned around quickly, grabbing somebody's arm and wrapping it softly around their throat. I looked at the person fiercely, and I immediately let go as I spotted the character's face, my gaze softening.

"Oh my God, Daisuke! I'm so sorry!"

I gasped as I stared at him, and he put his arm down by his side and stared at me, too.

"What. . . What was that?"

He whispered, too shocked to speak properly.

'Shoot!"

I thought harshly as we stared at each other. I averted my gaze for a second before dashing out of the room, down the stairs, and out of the house;

I couldn't be discovered by him!

'It might not be that bad if he did find out,'

I thought,

'I mean, he's a good guy, and his family seems okay. And he has a good background.'

I shook my head to rid my mind of all thoughts as I continued to walk down the road, my hands stuffed into my skirt pockets

I looked at my watch again, and it read half past eight.

"I should probably get going."

I whispered as I headed back to the park I had been to that morning, the museum only being a 10 minute walk from there, in the opposite direction of the school. At quarter to nine, I hopped from the ground onto the top of the swing set, closed my eyes and concentrated hard. As I concentrated my magic, my hair changed from light brown to blonde, and pink wings spread from my back with a sharp sound. As I opened my eyes, my wings spread out to their full span of about 5 metres, and I jumped from the swing set, flying towards the museum. When I reached the museum, I spotted Takeshi hiding in a tree with his camera, a grin on his face as he prepared to take pictures for the school newspaper.

The clock nearby read five minutes to nine, and I spotted Dark coming near, black wings spreading out of his back, his purple hair and eyes lighting up in the dark from the lights the police set up around the museum. They weren't doing a very good job - they hadn't spotted either me or Dark yet. Takeshi's dad, Inspector Saehara, was giving the guards their orders, and Satoshi was standing there, his back perched against the wall, waiting for the clock to strike nine o'clock. He was smiling slightly as he watched the patrolmen running around everywhere to get to their positions.

'He's already spotted us, I suppose.'

I thought as the clock struck nine. I flew into the museum through a window in the roof after taking it from it's hinges. The Angel's Jewel was in plain sight in the middle of the room, with no lasers or other technology in sight. I suspected that this was a trap, but I went along with it. I dashed towards the Angel's Jewel and secured it in my hands, when warm breath brushed against my neck as someone whispered seductively,

"Hello there, Young Lady. What's someone like you doing in a place like this?"

I grabbed his arm and twisted it around his neck sharply, and he smirked.

"Where have I seen that move before?"

He pondered, not really meaning it.

"Who knows,"

I smirked,

"Maybe we've met before. Or maybe I've met your tamer before. Is that a possibility to you, Dark?"

I questioned as he froze on the spot.

"How do you know that?"

He hissed at me, squirming out of my grip and staring at me.

"I'm not going to say. I have my secrets. As do you."

I grinned. Dark frowned at me momentarily, but then his grin returned.

"But anyway, Young Lady, I'm afraid you have something of mine."

He said, trying to push back the subject. He walked towards me, trying to get the Angel's Jewel.

"No way you're getting this."

I spat back at him, trying to turn away, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him.

"Let go of me!"

I screamed trying to get free of his grip, but without success. He held onto me tighter and pulled me closer towards him.

"Dark!"

Someone shouted from behind us. Dark and I both turned around to where Satoshi was running towards us.

"Yo, Commander!"

Dark said as he pushed me out of the way and dodged Satoshi who was jumping towards us. I got up from where I had fallen when Dark pushed me, and watched Satoshi and Dark, who suddenly changed targets from Dark to me. He jumped on top of me and pinned my arms onto the cold marble floor.

"Let go of me!"

I shouted as he struggled to hold me. I stayed still for a moment and we looked into each other's eyes, his icy blue ones widening as if he recognised me.

'Damn!'

I thought as he whispered,

"Are you. . .?"

I shook my head slightly, and he suddenly leapt up from on top of me and put his hands up to his head as if in pain. He grunted and groaned as he shook violently before a white light surrounded him, and when it disappeared, a strange figure took his place.

"Krad!"

Dark shouted as this character - Krad - charged towards him, a white feather in his hand. When Dark and Krad collided, black and white auras covered them as they battled. Krad suddenly came towards me and grabbed me by my throat, choking me. I tried to form words but only grunting noises escaped my mouth as my face became pale.

"Sa. . . to. . . shi. . ."

I managed to whisper, black specks dancing at the corners of my eyes,

"Please. . ."

Krad's hand started shaking slightly, and he growled in anger as he let released me. I sank to the floor, barely holding onto my consciousness as Krad screamed and changed back, leaving an unconscious bluenette in his place.

"Are you alright?"

Dark asked as he neared me, placing a hand on my shoulder in comfort.

"Y-Yeah, I think so."

I replied quietly as I watched Satoshi sleep.

"Do you want me to bring you home?"

Dark asked, stretching out his hand to me.

"I-I think I'm okay for a while. I'll wait until he wakes up."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

He warned.

"Well, you're not me, Dark."

I retaliated, glaring at the violet-haired man.

"How do you know so much about me, anyway?"

He asked, curiously.

"I. . ."

I hesitated,

"I just do. I'd rather not say anything just yet."

"I understand."

He nodded,

"But you will tell me, right?"

"Yes. Eventually."

He nodded again and left, the museum becoming quiet. The guards and everyone else were most likely waiting outside for further instructions, and Satoshi was beginning to wake up. When he woke, his crystal blue eyes stared into my emerald ones as his head rested on my lap. We both blushed slightly, and he got up from my lap and dusted himself off, giving his hand to me to help me up.

But I crawled back.

He stared shocked at me for a moment, and then tried again, but I moved back again. He stared into my eyes and fear clouded them. My body shook and I shook my head slightly, scared. I'd never seen anything like Krad before, so full of anger and hatred, and it scared me. I'd never cowered in front of anyone before this, so I shook violently and tears flooded my cheeks. For probably the first time in my life, I was truly scared.


	2. Chapter 2

Satoshi's P.O.V. (Point Of View)

She trembled in front of me, my hand outstretched towards her to help her up. Her beautiful emerald eyes glistened with fear in the moonlight which reflected from the window on the roof of the museum.

"Come on,"

I whispered,

"I'm only here to help you. I won't let him hurt you. I promise."

"B-But. . ."

She stuttered,

"You. . . how do I know I can trust you?"

"I promise not to hurt you. Isn't that enough?"

"Of course not!"

She hissed,

"You may be a Police Commander, but you can still break your promises."

"That's true."

I laughed softly, still trying to help her.

"What if. . ."

I hesitated,

"What if I told you I knew who you were?"

When I said that, she froze on the spot.

"I wouldn't believe you."

She said straight-forwardly, staring at me while she said it.

"You're that new student in our class, aren't you?"

My P.O.V.

"You're that new student in our class, aren't you?"

He asked me, not blinking and staring at me as he said it. I stared at him, my eyes widening slightly.

'How could he have figured it out that quickly?'

I thought as we stared at each other.

"Your hair may have changed colour, and you may have wings, but your eyes are the same."

He said.

'My eyes? He found out just from that?'

"If you'll come with me for the evening,"

He said,

"I won't tell anyone."

"That's blackmail."

I pointed out, and he laughed.

"Maybe, but that doesn't matter. So? Yes or no?"

I hesitated for a moment, the Angel's Jewel clutched tightly in my hand.

"I'm not going to try take it back, if that's what you're thinking."

He added as I clutched the Angel's Jewel close to me.

"Just for safety measures, Commander,"

I laughed, calming down a bit,

"For all I know, you could be getting ready to put me behind bars right now."

He laughed slightly while helping my get up from the ground, and he whispered,

"You'd probably be better off hiding on the roof for a while until everyone else leaves."

I nodded and we parted ways. He left through the entrance as I jumped quietly out through the open window again, changed back to my normal self and waited.

30 minutes later everyone else had left and Satoshi called to me from the museum. He went back outside and I jumped from the roof, landing beside him.

"You should be more careful."

He said as we walked over to the limousine waiting outside for us. Satoshi opened the door for me, so I got in first, and Satoshi closed the door as he got in after me.

"Back to the house."

He told the driver.

"Right away, sir."

The driver replied. Eventually we reached the house, and Satoshi brought me through several long hallways until we reached his bedroom.

"Are you okay with sleeping here?"

He asked me.

"A-Are you sure? Isn't this your bedroom?"

"Yes, but there's no other bedrooms."

"Why don't I believe you?"

"Because this is a huge house and you find it hard to believe that there's only one bedroom?"

He suggested.

"Exactly."

I said while looking around the room. The room itself was white with a bed covered in white duvets. There were two glass doors which led to a balcony that had a view of the countryside. There was an en suite to the left of the room and Satoshi's study was on the right. I walked out to the balcony and admired the view.

"It's beautiful."

I sighed as the wind blew past my face and into the room.

"Do you like the view?"

Satoshi asked as he stood behind me.

"Yeah,"

I whispered,

"It's lovely. It's very peaceful."

As I looked at the scenery, Satoshi wrapped his hands across my neck, and across the palm marks that Krad had left. As soon as he touched the marks, my hand came up from my side and onto my neck and I asked, almost silently,

"What are you doing?"

"I just need to check,"

He assured me,

"That it's not something serious. Because if it was, I'd never forgive myself for hurting you. I'm really sorry for this."

My other hand came up from my side, and both of my hands wrapped around Satoshi's as I squeezed them a bit, a cold sensation running down my spine as my warm hands came in touch with his cold ones.

"It's alright."

I whispered,

"I've dealt with worse."

As I said that, Satoshi walked towards the wardrobe on the opposite side of the room from the bed and opened it, taking out a first aid kit.

"What are you doing?"

I asked as he took out a roll of bandages and a sort of cream.

"It needs to be cared for,"

He answered,

"Otherwise it could become a scar."

He came over to me with the bandages and the cream, and asked me to tie up my hair. I took a hair tie from one of my wrists and tied my hair up into a bun. I didn't turn around, but I could hear Satoshi opening the tube of cream and pouring it onto his hands, covering them in cream. He wrapped his hands around my neck, covering my neck in the cream, which stung very much. I moaned a bit as the cream stung, but once Satoshi put on the bandages, it stopped stinging, and I sat down quietly without saying anything, picking at the bandage which now covered my neck.

"If you pick at it,"

Satoshi whispered,

"it won't work. It'll just get worse."

The two of us continued to sit in silence until something popped into my head.

"Hey. . ."

I whispered softly.

"What is it?"

Satoshi asked, looking at me.

"You said that there was only one bedroom. Does that mean that this is the only bed in the house?"

I asked.

"Well, there is another bedroom, but I'm the only one that goes up there. It's kind of a private room."

He explained.

"I see,"

I nodded,

"So does that mean you'll be staying up there?"

"Yes."

I became slightly scared again, thinking that I would be all alone in the room of a house I could get lost in.

"But,"

Satoshi continued,

"I could stay here if you wanted me to."

Silence covered the room for a moment, before I answered,

"I'd like that. I don't want to be alone here."

I fell onto the bed and looked at the ceiling, as white as snow. I began to look around the room again when Satoshi's back caught my attention. Two strange marks spread evenly across his back showed where his shirt was torn. I got up onto the bed and knelt down on it, staring at the marks.

"What are you doing?"

Satoshi asked, a curious tone in his voice.

"Nothing."

I said as I looked at the marks intently. I touched one of them with my index finger and Satoshi grunted, one of his hands balling up into a fist.

"Take off your jacket and your shirt."

I whispered while tracing over the mark with my fingers,

"Are you crazy?"

Satoshi hissed as the pain from the marks flowed through him.

"Just do it,"

I ordered,

"These need to be tended to."

"There's no point,"

Satoshi said,

"They'll just come back, anyway."

"If they're hurting you this much, then they need to be taken care of, even if they will come back. You're letting me stay here, so I need to help you in any way I can. Now take it off."

He mumbled something and took them off as I grabbed the cream from the side of the bed. I covered the wounds with it using one of my hands, Satoshi gripping my other arm and squeezing it tight as the cream stung. Once I had applied the cream I put on the bandages using both of my hands. As the bandages went over the marks, Satoshi grunted, but when I had finished, we both sighed with relief.

"You okay?"

I asked as I lay down on the bed.

"Yeah... thanks."

Satoshi said as his lips turned up into a small smile. As I looked at my watch it read quarter to eleven.

"Good thing the first day of school was on Friday,"

Satoshi said while looking at me,

"Otherwise we'd be in trouble trying to get to sleep."

"And Takeshi would probably be boasting about his "Scoop of the Week"."

I giggled, using my fingers as quotation marks. We both laughed slightly at that, before nervousness covered the room like a thick blanket.

"Hey, Satoshi."

I asked, looking at him.

"What is it?"

"What'll you do?"

"What're you talking about now?"

"I mean, you're a Police Commander, and I'm a Phantom Thief. What'll you do? Are you gonna put me in jail?"

I asked, curiosity and hope stirring in my voice. After several quiet moments, he answered.

"I don't know."

I looked at my watch again, which now read eleven o'clock.

"It's getting late."

Satoshi pointed out as he got up from the bed and took off his jacket, which had two holes in the middle of a yellow, cross-like imprint. He stretched his arms and got his jacket from the bed, putting it on my shoulders as he slipped into the bed. I put on the jacket properly and went into the bed, putting the blankets over me and trying to sleep.

"Good night."

Satoshi whispered.

"Night night."

I whispered back childishly as I wrapped the jacket around me, falling asleep after a few moments, my head on Satoshi's chest, his breath surrounding me softly and his heartbeat thumping in my ears.

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of someone opening the curtains leaning out to the balcony and from the light coming through. I groaned as the light woke me up, and I hid under the duvet again, trying to sleep some more. Someone nudged me, trying to wake me up, so I got up from under the covers to shout at the person to stop annoying me and to let me sleep on, when I remembered what had happened the night before and where I was. I groaned again as I looked around, and when I looked in front of me I saw Satoshi. I jolted back slightly, not expecting him to be looking at me.

"Morning to you too, sleepyhead."

He joked monotonely as I got out of bed. I yawned as I stretched and followed Satoshi downstairs to the kitchen, still in my tank top, skirt and Satoshi's jacket. We both sat down in the kitchen, which was otherwise deserted, and ate the breakfast in front of us. Afterwards, we stayed in the kitchen as Satoshi asked me questions.

"So how much do you know?"

He asked finally as I finished my breakfast.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you know about Krad. Do you know anything else?"

"What if I told you that I knew everything?"

"I'd say that you're bluffing."

"Oh, I assure you, I don't bluff. I'm serious."

"Everything? Absolutely everything?"

"Would you like me to spell it out for you?"

I asked, getting annoyed,

"I know E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G about it. Ask me a question about it, I can answer it. So, what would you like to know?"

"Just tell me what you know."

"Do you know everything about it yourself?"

I asked, before saying anything else.

"I won't know until you tell me, now will I?"

"True enough."

I giggled as I took a deep breath before I began to explain.

"Well, first of all, you're the tamer of Krad, half of the Black Wings."

Satoshi nodded in agreement as he listened intently,

"And Daisuke Niwa is the tamer of Dark, the other half of the Black Wings."

He nodded again.

"And even though Dark and Krad hate each other, you and Daisuke are friends."

Another nod.

"The Black Wings was made by the Hikari family, the most famous artists during the Cultural Revolution, before most of their artworks were destroyed."

He nodded again, his expression becoming slightly grim.

"Would you like me to tell your background, or should I leave it at that?"

I asked, and he looked at me, shocked slightly. He nodded at me eventually, wanting to hear if my information was accurate.

"Well, you're the only remaining heir to the Hikari family, and your dad now is your adoptive father."

When I saw the pained expression on his face, I stopped talking immediately.

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."

I apologised.

"It's alright. I shouldn't have let you say anything in the first place."

The doorbell rang and I stood up to get it, but Satoshi was quicker.

"It could become troublesome if you were seen here."

He said as he went to get the door.

I went upstairs and listened from the balcony, and it turns out that Daisuke and Takeshi had come over.

'Oh boy,'

I thought as I sat down on the bed,

'We're in trouble. If they find me, it's game over. I mean, one of them's a Phantom Thief, and the other's a reporter! If they find me, how are we gonna make up an excuse?'

I thought about it for a moment before deciding that I should leave. By the time I had decided this, Takeshi and Daisuke had already come into the house, so I jumped from the balcony to the roof, and jumped off the roof to the front of the house, making sure that nobody saw me, before I walked home, bringing the Angel's Jewel, which was safely tucked away in my coat pocket, and wearing Satoshi's jacket. I got home about 20 minutes later, went inside and had a shower. When I got dressed afterwards, the doorbell rang, so I answered it. I stood there with a confused face when I saw Daisuke and Satoshi at the door, but when I saw the looks on their faces, mine became grim.

"What did you tell him?"

I asked, my question directed at Satoshi.

"Only what he needed to know."

He replied coldly.

"How do I know I can trust him? Just because he's kind of the same as me isn't a reason for me to trust him."

Daisuke shrugged when I said that, agreeing with me.

"What exactly did you tell him?"

I hissed angrily.

"He found out about that himself. I kept my promise."

Satoshi assured me.

"How did you find out?"

I asked Daisuke, staring at him.

"Most likely because of that move you used on both him and Dark."

Satoshi interrupted, and Daisuke nodded. I was going to ask Satoshi how he knew that, but I presumed that Daisuke had told him about his suspicions.

"So?"

I asked, getting annoyed at their sudden visit when I had things to do,

"Was that the only reason you two came here? Because if it is, we might as well tell the entire world my secrets. Coming here to tell me what you did hasn't solved anything. I probably shouldn't trust you."

I said, directing my words at Daisuke.

"But,"

I continued,

"Since we're in the same situation, I suppose I could trust you for now."

Both Satoshi's and Daisuke's faces lit up when I said that, and someone's phone rang. Daisuke took his out of his pocket and answered it, putting it to his ear for a moment before taking it away again, someone shouting at the other end.

"C-Calm down, mom."

Daisuke said as the shouting stopped and he put the phone to his ear again.

"What? Bring her there? Why?"

He asked. He sighed as he put down the phone again, and said,

"My mom wants you to come to the house."

I stared at him, a confused look on my face.

"Why?"

I asked, being cautious. He shrugged at me and I sighed, but agreed to come along. As we headed off, Satoshi bid us goodbye and headed off in the opposite direction, towards his own house.

"Hey, Daisuke,"

I whispered,

"What happened to Takeshi? I mean, he was at Satoshi's house, but he wasn't at mine."

Daisuke looked at me for a moment before he answered.

"Well, the only reason he was at Hiwatari-kun's house in the first place was because he was excited about his "Scoop of the Week" about last night. We went into Hiwatari-kun's house for a few minutes while Takeshi talked about it, but then he left, saying something about "Having to tell other people"."

I laughed slightly when he said that, but became nervous again afterwards. Eventually we reached the house, and after passing the traps, went into the living room, where the Niwa family were waiting. I greeted everyone, they greeted me back, and then a very serious aura spread across the room.

"Sit down, dear."

Emiko, Daisuke's mother, said to me, a sweet tone in her voice. I sat down on the couch beside Daisuke and his father, Kosuke, though I was cautious while doing so. Once everyone was comfortable, I was surrounded by questions from the entire family, except Daisuke, who was listening intently. Emiko, Kosuke and Daiki asked me several questions about the Black Wings, and other things which they already knew the answers to, to check if I really did know about Dark, Krad and all of the other things in between. By the time they were finished with their questions, it was well gone ten o'clock in the evening, and Daisuke and I both had bags under our eyes. Daisuke's grandfather yawned and Emiko sent Daisuke to bed, sending me up soon after, saying "I'm so sorry dear, I didn't realised that much time had passed. You must be exhausted." I nodded, wiping the sleep out of my eyes, yawning. Before I could leave to go home, Emiko suggested that I stay the night, and because I was too tired to argue, I stayed.

Emiko brought me one of her old night gowns, and I got dressed in the bathroom, heading back downstairs afterwards to ask where I was going to sleep. When I did, Daisuke's mother replied "Oh, you're sleeping in Dai's room, of course. Unfortunately we haven't got a spare room, so I'm afraid that's the only option." She smiled as she said it, and I smiled back, bidding the family goodnight as I headed upstairs again to Daisuke's room. "Daisuke? Are you in here?" I asked as I opened the door, poking my head into the room, looking around. Daisuke's head came up from the bed and he looked at me with a tired look on his face, and after a moment he seemed to understand, so he moved over in the bed as I climbed up the stairs leading to the top of his bunk bed. I wrapped the covers around me and soon fell into what seemed like an eternal sleep. I jolted awake suddenly when I felt something around my waist. I turned around and had to look up, and I saw Daisuke's face above mine, my head on his chest. He was asleep, his breath tickling the top of my head. I fell asleep again, too tired to move, and I didn't realise that tears started to flow down my cheeks, memories of the night before flowing back into my mind.

The next morning, I woke up in the bed alone. I sat upright in the bed and looked around, and saw Emiko in the room, about to wake me up.

"Ah, good morning, dear,"

She greeted, smiling,

"breakfast is on the table if you want some."

"Ah, thank you, Mrs. Niwa. But. . ."

I trailed off, thinking of how best to put it.

"Yes, dear?"

Emiko asked, curious look on her face as she stared up at me.

"Well. . ."

I stuttered, getting nervous all of a sudden.

"It's all right, dear,"

Emiko reassured me,

"I don't bite."

I smiled at her, and continued my sentence.

"Well, Daisuke seems like such a nice kid and all, and he's a really good friend,"

I blabbed, saying what came to my head, not getting to the point,

"But anyway, I was thinking about it yesterday, and I think that I can help."

Emiko looked at me, now confused, as I continued.

"I think that I might be able to separate them,"

I whispered,

"If that would help."

I'd begun to feel close to the Niwas, and I wanted to help them, even though they were my rivals, in a sense. Emiko stared at me, eyes wide.

"I-I mean, if you don't think it's a good idea, then we don't have to. . ."

I stammered.

"Oh, dear, I've never heard such an idea before. I think it's a fantastic idea. Those two are always bickering about who's taking over Dai's body, so I think it would be a great opportunity for them."

"Really?"

I asked, my face lighting up as I looked down at her from the bed.

"Yes, I think it is. I'm sure they would agree, also."

When Emiko announced my idea to the rest of the family, for a moment, everyone stared at me. When Daisuke looked at me, his eyes shone with. . . determination? Happiness? Hope? I don't know. But when he smiled at me, I smiled back. Later on, when the two of us were alone, Daisuke asked me what other people would have found a strange request,

"Can you do it for Hiwatari-kun aswell?"

"Satoshi?"

"Well, because, in a way, he's kind of like me, so. . ."

He stammered, but I just smiled.

"I was planning on that, anyway."

He looked up at me and smiled when I said it, and then slight confusion covered his face.

"I've seen what he's like,"

I whispered softly,

"What Krad's like, and I know that Satoshi's going through a lot with him, so I want to help him, too."


	3. Chapter 3

My P.O.V.

After having slept for what felt like a lifetime, I woke up, after feeling something, or someone jolt beside me. I moaned and got up slowly, not wanting to wake up yet.

"What is it, Satoshi?"

I asked when I saw him, a strange look on his face.

"No, it's nothing. Never mind."

He whispered, and got up off the bed, and headed downstairs. When I looked at the digital clock, it read midday, 12:00. I groaned as I got up, and forced myself to get dressed and go downstairs.

When I got downstairs, I could smell eggs and toast in the kitchen, so I wandered there, my stomach beginning to rumble. After I had eaten, the doorbell rang. Satoshi answered it, and who I heard at the other side made me freeze.

"What is it, Saehara?"

Satoshi grunted as he greeted Takeshi at the door. I poked my head out into the hall, asking,

"Who is it, Satoshi?"

Both Satoshi and Takeshi looked at me, and Takeshi said,

"Oh, Aoko! Great timing! I have something to tell you!"

I came out into the hall and walked over to the door, where Takeshi told us,

"Well, I got the scoop from my dad. He told me that Dark and Precious were going after the Devil's Fire at the Fujisashi house."

He continued to blabber on for another couple of minutes, and then left.

At around quarter past 3 I left, and headed back home. I had to prepare for the Fujisashi house,after all, didn't I? After I had prepared, it was already quarter to 6. I left for the household, and when I reached it, there was nobody in sight. Ah, did I forget to mention that it was an abandoned mansion? Nobody had lived in it for 30 years, so there was dust everywhere. I eventually found the Devil's Fire, in the middle of the lounge, the furthest room from the entrance. The Devil's Fire was a small sculpture of a phoenix, it's wings spread out, and a large fire surrounding it. I managed to grab it, but I quickly turned around when I heard something behind me.

When I saw Takeshi and Risa in front of me, I froze.

"Why are you two here?"

I asked, although I already knew the answer. Risa was here because she wanted to see Dark, and Takeshi wanted to take pictures for the school newspaper.

'Oh great,'

I thought,

'more trouble. Just what I needed.'

I waved my hand in front of the Devil's Fire, and it vanished. Or that's what Takeshi and Risa thought. It actually transported back to my house, safe from harm. Takeshi and Risa continued to stare at me for a moment, before someone groaned. The noise sounded familiar, and I moaned when I realised who it was.

'Oh, please don't let it happen here. If it happens now, the secret's out!'

And then, what I feared would happen happened. It all happened in what seemed like a blur. Satoshi appeared, and changed to Krad, but not before wings sprouted out of his back, and Takeshi and Risa stared in shock.

"What are you going to do to them, Krad?"

I hissed, worried for their safety.

"Oh, nothing they can't handle,"

he assured me, a smirk on his face. I scowled at him, as Risa and Takeshi snapped back to reality after having registered what they saw.

"Who are you?"

Risa asked, looking at Krad.

"I, young lady, am Krad. Lovely to meet your acquaintance."

I laughed slightly when he said it, and Risa and Takeshi looked at me strangely.

"Listen, both of you,"

I said, getting serious,

"You need to get out of here. Right now."

"B-But. . . "

Risa stuttered,

"Now is not the time for arguing, alright?"

I hissed, and they moved away instantly. They moved to the corner of the room furthest from us, and continued to watch me.

I was about to say something when a voice came from beside me. I looked over, and Dark was there, his black wings spread out.

"Dark-san!"

Risa shouted from across the room, and Dark looked her way.

"You're late, Dark."

I commented, and he scowled at me. When he spotted Krad, his scowl turned into a frown, and when Krad charged at him, a feather in hand, it turned into one of shock.

"What are you doing here, Krad?!"

He shouted, as he flew away from Krad, in my direction. I ducked as Krad and Dark flew above me, my wings tucked behind my back.

"You idiots!"

I screamed as I got back up,

"This is an abandoned building! It could collapse if you're not careful!"

They ignored my warning and continued to fight, balls of magic and feathers flying everywhere. I began to get really annoyed with Dark and Krad fighting, so I took a feather in my hand, and began chanting several incantations. When I opened my eyes after the incantations, the two angels began to collide with each other, but a barrier stopped them. They were thrown back, but another barrier stopped them and made them float gently to the floor, without damaging the house.

Krad, Dark, Takeshi and Risa stared at me in amazement, and I could tell that Daisuke was probably looking at me aswell from inside Dark.

"What?"

I asked them, even though I knew I wouldn't get an answer. I sighed, and ignored their stares,

"If you're gonna have me around, you might as well get used to it. Magic isn't that hard, you know. Especially small barriers like that."

"Small?"

Dark retorted, staring at me,

"That was HUGE! And powerful!"

I smirked slightly, but my smirk disappeared as I got serious.

"But seriously, if you're not careful, this place could collapse, bringing us down with it."

Krad didn't listen to my warning, and continued to battle with Dark. I groaned as they continued to battle, and looked over at Takeshi and Risa, who were frozen on the spot. I went over to them quietly, and they stared at me.

"Hiwatari-kun is. . . . "

Risa stuttered, shocked and surprised as she looked at Krad, who was battling Dark. I realised that I'd have to erase their memories. I sighed, and turned to face the two angels again.

'I guess I'll have to turn them back by force.'

I thought as I continued to watch them fight. I watched for another moment, and as Dark was about to land a fatal attack on Krad, I flicked my hand, a barrier surrounding Krad, protecting him from harm.

"What the hell?!"

Dark shouted at me, anger boiling in his voice.

"I won't let you hurt him, Dark! I don't care if you hate him, you and I both have reasons to protect him. His other side is important to me! So back off!"

Dark grumbled under his breath, and he flew back down to me. Krad gained his composure and began to chase after Dark again, but with another flick of my wrist he was thrown off course, bouncing off my shield and floating in the air, stunned. I ignored the look on his face and sat down, my legs crossed, and began chanting again.

"Wasting my magic on you two is NOT how I would like to spend my evening. I have a limit, you know."

I grunted as I took out a feather. Placing it in front of me, it began to float and glow a light pink colour. Before I began chanting, another feather appeared in front of Takeshi and Risa, knocking them unconscious as their memories were being erased. As they dropped to the ground I finally began to chant.

I repeated the same thing over, in many different languages, and when the light in the feather had dimmed and gone out, Daisuke and Satoshi were the ones who stood in front of me, looking at both me and the unconscious Takeshi and Risa.

"Wh. . . .What did you do to them?"

Daisuke stuttered, obviously worried for them.

"Don't worry, I only erased their memories. You wouldn't want them findng out, now would you?"

"I guess not. . . ."

Daisuke muttered, looking at the ground.

Daisuke was the first to leave, saying that his mom would kill him if he didn't get home soon.

"What did it mean?"

I whispered to Satoshi, still sitting on the ground, refusing to meet his crystal blue gaze. He seemed to understand what I meant, and whispered back,

"I don't know. But I won't let that happen to you. I promise."

Before I knew it, my hands were wrapped around Satoshi's, which were wrapped around my neck. Satoshi was kneeling behind me, in between my wings, cradling me gently, whispering in my ear. The touch of his breath on my ear sent a shiver down my spine, and I fidgeted slightly, cold because of the draught now resonating throughout the house.

The next morning I got up at around seven o'clock, and couldn't fall back asleep, even though school doesn't start until nine. I groaned, and got ready for school, dressing into my school uniform and eating my breakfast. I took my schoolbag, with my finished homework inside, and locked the door behind me as I headed out the door at half seven. With still more than an hour until I had to go to school, I headed off to the beach, which is a twenty minute walk from my house. When I reached the beach, the first thing I did was sit on a large rock which was halfway on the water. I spent a while looking into the blue water below me, entranced by it's beauty. After a few minutes, I started moving my fingers around, causing the water to float in front of me, and create beautiful, yet complicated, patterns in the air.

About 10 minutes later, at 8 o'clock, I let the water that was floating in the air drop, which caused it to splash back in my face. I wiped it off, and headed off to school, even though when I got there, at twenty past eight, I still had plenty of time until school actually started. I went to the classroom and left my bag there, and began to explore. I hadn't been to see the entire school yet, so I went to all the places that seemed unfamiliar. I visited the music room last, after checking out various rooms on the other floors of the school. Inside, there was a grand piano, a saxophone, flute, violin, a set of drums and countless amounts of other musical instruments. I tried them all out in turn, playing various tunes on each, testing them out. I tried the piano last, and sat down on the seat. I tested it to check if it was in tune, and when I realised it was, I played a tune that I had learned when I was seven. It was a very complicated song, but I was a quick learner, and it had sunk into my memory in a couple of minutes when I had first learned it. There were lyrics to go along to the song, and I began to sing aswell, getting stuck into the moment. The song was one I had learned from a dear friend of mine, who taught it to me, along with the lyrics.

Satoshi's P.O.V.

I had nothing better to do, so I decided to come into school early. After leaving my bag in the classroom, I noticed someone else had done the same. I wandered around for a while, and then I could hear music coming from the music room upstairs. I went upstairs and quietly stepped towards the music room, watching and listening through the slight crack in the door. When I saw Aoko, my eyes widened in surprise, as I watched her play the grand piano, an incredible melody, like one I'd never heard before. And as her voice echoed throughout the room, I couldn't turn away. Her angelic voice seemed to float through the room like the music she played and echoed in my ears and mind. The song seemed to end too quickly, and when it stopped, Aoko opened her eyes, which had been closed as she sang. and she spotted me peeking through the crack in the door.

"Satoshi. . . . ?"

My P.O.V.

"Satoshi. . . . ?"

I asked, as I saw him looking in through the crack in the door.

Satoshi backed away and opened the door, stepping into the music room, where I sat at the grand piano.

"S - Sorry,"

He apologised,

"I just. . . heard noise here in the music room, so I came to take a look, and you were here, so. . . ."

He whispered, but I just smiled and said,

"It's alright. I'm not mad at you or anything. I was just . . . . surprised, is all."

I hesitated, trying to find the right word. Satoshi opened his mouth to say something, but closed it as the bell rang to signal that class would be starting in 10 minutes. I sighed, and headed out with Satoshi, downstairs to our homeroom class. We both entered, and I noticed that most of the class had come in while we were gone. I went over to my desk and got my books ready for class, and then went back to the school entrance to wait for Daisuke, the Harada twins and Takeshi. When they arrived, we all headed back to the classroom, Takeshi talking with me about pictures and articles which I had shown interest in. When I opened the door, though, I was surprised when Satoshi nearly bumped into me.

"H - Hiwatari-kun!"

I exclaimed, shocked.

"A - Are you okay?"

"I'm fine,"

He replied,

"What about you?"

"I - I think so. . . "

I stuttered, then winced, a pain in my leg suddenly making itself known.

"You don't look okay."

Satoshi commented as he grabbed my shoulder to help keep me upright.

"I . . . . I think I may have twisted my ankle."

I whispered as the pain became unbearable.

"No, I think you've done a bit more than that. Niwa, do you mind telling the teacher we'll be a bit late for class?"

"Ah, sure thing, Hiwatari-kun!"

Daisuke said as he rushed into the classroom, with the others, as the teacher sat at her desk.

"Are you alright?"

Hiwatari asked again as he helped me stand upright, supporting my shoulders.

"Apparently not,"

I hissed, the pain causing a massive headache,

"It must have been when I was coming home from your house yesterday."

He looked at me with a worried face, so I said,

"But all that happened was that I fell and I got a few scratches and a bruise on my knee! I didn't think something like this would happen."

"In any case, we should get you to the nurse's office."

I nodded in agreement, and he carried me, bridal style, to the nurse's office, which was at the other side of the school. My cheeks were beet red, so I hid my face in his shirt, my hands wrapped around his neck for support. I inhaled his scent as I tried to get over the nausea, but it didn't work. I felt like getting sick, but nothing would come up, and I felt like my body was on fire. I started taking deeper breaths, and my hands wrapped even more tightly around Satoshi's neck as he carried me.

Satoshi's P.O.V.

When we were halfway to the nurse's office, Aoko's grip on me tightened, and I began to worry.

'Just hang on, Aoko,'

I thought,

'Hang on a little while longer.'

Five minutes later we reached the nurse's office, and I put Aoko on the bed as I talked to the nurse about what had happened.

"Oh, my!"

The nurse exclaimed, as she took Aoko's temperature and listened to my story at the same time.

"What is it? Will she be okay?"

I asked as I stood beside her, looking at Aoko.

"Well, Mr. Hiwatari, it seems that she has a very high fever, but if she stays here for the day, she should be okay by the end of school. If she wakes up, make sure she doesn't fall back asleep. I haven't examined her bruises and cuts yet, and I need her to be awake when I do."

"Yes, Miss, of course. I'll stay by her until she wakes up."

"Thank you, Mr. Hiwatari."

I sat down on the chair beside the bed where Aoko slept, and watched her as her breathing settled.

'Come on, Aoko,'

I thought,

'You can fight this.'


	4. Chapter 4

My P.O.V.

I was dreaming, and the dream I had was strange. In my dream, there was fire all around me, and it felt like it was burning my skin off, it was so hot. I was screaming for someone to help me, trying to escape, but I couldn't. I gave up, and started crying, tears rolling down my cheeks, the only cold thing I could feel. I suddenly felt something cold touch my shoulder, and when I looked up, it was Satoshi, looking down at me with concern in his eyes.

"Hiwatari? What are you doing here?"

I asked. His lips moved, but I couldn't hear what he said. Then, all of a sudden, he turned into flames, scorching my shoulder. Then I woke up. Screaming.

Satoshi's P.O.V.

She woke up screaming, and taking deep breaths, a terrified look on her face.

"Aoko!"

I exclaimed, holding her shoulders to support her,

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"I. . . . you. . . . hot. . . . flames. . . . it hurts. . . . "

She mumbled, too scared to talk properly. I wrapped my arms around her and whispered a "shh" sound into her ear, trying to comfort her. Her tears stopped flowing eventually, and she looked like she was about to fall back asleep, but I said,

"Aoko, don't fall asleep again."

She looked up at me, with her wide eyes, and said,

"Don't let me fall asleep. Please."

She begged, clutching my arm tightly.

"Don't worry, I won't,"

I assured her,

"Besides, the nurse told me not to let you fall asleep once you woke up."

She seemed to catch on to where she was, and asked,

"What time is it?"

I glanced at my watch, and surprisingly, it was only half eleven, even though it had felt like an eternity watching her sleep. . . . wait, what am I thinking?! I can't be thinking stuff like that! I shook my head, and Aoko asked,

"Are you okay, Hiwatari-kun?"

I looked down at her, an eyebrow raised, and asked,

"Since when did you start calling me "Hiwatari-kun"?"

A slight red came to her face, and she looked away, saying,

"W - Well, it's just since it seemed so informal, and everyone else calls you Hiwatari-kun, so. . . . "

She trailed off, not knowing what else to say. I laughed wholeheartedly for the first time in years.

My P.O.V.

Satoshi laughed, and I looked up at him. His laugh was melodious, and I thought I could never get tired of it. Then I remembered what he was laughing at.

"Hey!"

I huffed,

"It's not funny!"

He motioned for me to be quiet, and apologised, although he was still chuckling. I pouted, and it actually looked really childish, which only caused Satoshi to laugh harder. I nudged him in the ribs, and he stopped laughing, but started coughing instead.

"Oh, Hiwatari-kun! I - I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you!"

A fit of coughing later, Satoshi managed to catch his breath, and said,

"I - It's okay. It's not your fault."

"Are you alright?"

I asked, getting up and taking a bottle of water out of my schoolbag Satoshi had gone to the classroom to get.

"I'm okay,"

He replied,

"I've had this cold for a while. It'll pass."

Then, the nurse entered, and checked my leg. When we moved my skirt, there was a huge bump on my knee, and when the nurse touched it, I yelped in pain.

"This doesn't look good, I'm afraid."

The nurse commented, taking an ice pack out of the small fridge in the office.

"What's wrong?"

I asked, getting nervous and worried.

"Well, Aoko, it's a miracle that you didn't notice this before. It has swelled immensely, and if it isn't cared for properly it could damage your leg and disable it."

"Oh, dear,"

I whispered,

"How long will it take to heal?"

"If you take care of it properly,"

The nurse said as she placed the ice pack on my knee, and I winced,

"It should be fixed by Friday. I'm afraid you'll have to wear a bandage on it until then. Oh, and I don't want you walking on that leg, Aoko. You'll have to use crutches for the week."

"Crutches?"

I asked, shocked,

"I didn't think it was that serious!"

"Oh, the bruise on it's own wouldn't have been, but the multiple scratches have become infected, and they have also spread bacteria to the bruise, which can damage your leg, since it is in your knee."

"Yes, miss."

I sighed, sitting back on the bed. The nurse left again, and I laid down under the covers as Satoshi got up to get back to class.

Satoshi's P.O.V.

I got up off of the bed and turned to leave, when Aoko's breathing deepened again. I turned around, and her face was red.

"Aoko? You okay?"

I asked, coming closer to her.

"I. . . . I don't know,"

She replied,

"I feel faint again."

'Faint? Does she have another fever?'

I thought as I brought my forehead up against hers, and the heat from her passed to me. Her cheeks got even redder, and I don't think it was because of the fever. We were extremely close now, our breath touching each other's cheeks, my hand on her shoulder and her arm wrapped slightly around my waist. I felt heat on my cheeks and I got up quickly, clearing my throat.

"Looks like your fever came back,"

I commented,

"You should lie down."

She nodded, lying back down on the bed, and she fell asleep, but only after muttering.

"Thank you, Satoshi."

I smirked as I left the room, heading back to class, hoping she would be okay.

My P.O.V.

I dozed back off to sleep, and I woke up again when the nurse nudged me awake.

"Time to wake up, Aoko. School is over."

I jolted awake, looking at the clock, which, sure enough, read 3:40. I got out of bed, placed the bandage on my knee, took the crutches that the nurse had borrowed from the school and given to me, and headed out the door, my schoolbag on my back. When I got out of school, I saw Satoshi waiting for me at the gate. I used my crutches, limping over to him, and he took the schoolbag from my back.

"It's okay, Hiwatari-kun,"

I protested.

"I can carry it myself."

"In crutches?"

He pointed out, and I pouted again, a smirk playing on his lips. We headed home together, and Satoshi dropped me off at the front door of my house, saying goodbye as he left.

"Ah, Hiwatari-kun!"

I shouted, stopping him from leaving.

"What is it?"

He replied, turning back to face me.

"A-Ah, well, it's just that. . . . "

I explained to him about what I had discussed with Daisuke and, shocked as he seemed, Satoshi seemed to agree with the idea.

Satoshi's P.O.V.

I stood outside waiting for Aoko to get changed from her school uniform, when I started having second thoughts.

'Maybe I should have gone inside and helped her. . . '

Images of Aoko changing passed my mind, and I could feel heat passing through my cheeks. I dismissed the images, hoping that they would never pop up again, and headed for the front door. When I opened it, though, I came face-to-face with Aoko, who was heading outside to meet me.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Hiwatari-kun,"

She apologised, closing the door behind her,

"Did I keep you waiting?"

"N - No, it's no problem,"

I stuttered. Why did I stutter?

"Shall we go?"

I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Sure."

She answered, limping behind me on her crutches.

"And Aoko?"

I whispered, catching her attention.

"Yes?"

"You can just call me Satoshi, you know."

She smiled, and my heart skipped a beat in my chest.

"I know."

She said, catching up with me as we headed off.

Aoko's P.O.C.

Once it reached four o'clock I started to get impatient,because Daisuke hadn't appeared yet.

"How much longer is he gonna be?"

I asked, tapping my foot on the ground in a random beat.

"He should be here soon,"

Satoshi replied,

"He's the kind of person that appears when you least expect it."

I sighed when he said that,because I knew I wouldn't not be expecting him anytime several minutes Satoshi and I started a conversation,which is when Daisuke appeared,and Satoshi gave me an 'I told you so' all headed out to an abandoned street,where Daisuke and Satoshi stood beside each other as I prepared to remove Dark and Krad from their bodies and give them bodies of their own, which requires a lot of magical energy. When I was ready, I told Daisuke and Satoshi to close their eyes,since it would most likely hurt a bit. Or a lot. I couldn't be sure,but there was only one way to find out.

Closing my eyes I began to focus my energy through my hands, small beads of sweat forming on my forehead as time went on. No sound echoed throughout the abandon place we had come to, but within a few minutes, all I knew was darkness...

**Several hours later...**

I woke up to something that sounded like someone tripping over something and falling over.I opened my eyes quickly and got up off of the bed that I had been left on,and looked around,and found Daisuke getting up off of the floor,and Satoshi helping him up.I blinked several times wondering what had happened,and was snapped out of my confusion when Satoshi said,

"You're finally awake."

"W-What happened?"

I asked, still a bit tired, and only Daisuke and Satoshi in the room, so I wondered if it had worked.

"You passed out about 2 hours ago. You alright now?"

Satoshi asked, a concerned look on his face.

"I-I think so,"

I replied warily,

"Did it work?"

"Yeah,it did. Dark's sitting on the couch downstairs."

Daisuke replied, a look that said '_which is probably what he would do in any situation_'.

"What about Krad?"

Nobody answered; I don't think anybody wanted to.

We were all just glad he was gone.

**The next day**

Dark, Daisuke, Risa, Riku, Takeshi and I were walking home, and after a while Risa,Riku and Takeshi went their separate ways from us. Daisuke and Dark brought me to their house, but Emiko, their mom, forgot to turn off the traps,so we ended up doing somersaults,flips and other stunts just to get to the living we got inside,we all sat down on a couch in the middle of the room,and Emiko got me some tea, and after Dark and Daisuke headed upstairs, she explained to me the dangers that would arise if their secret got out. I told her I understood completely, because I had a few secrets of my own also, but they already knew that.

I started to get tired after spending about two hours at their house, so at about 8:30,I was going to head home, but Emiko objected. She insisted that I stay here for the night,so, too tired to argue, I up to Daisuke's room, I pushed the two boys out as I got changed out of my school clothes into an old nightie of Emiko's.I came back downstairs for dinner, but once I got down the stairs,everyone gave me strange looks.

"Wh-What is it?"

I asked,suddenly getting nervous.

"I-It's nothing, really."

Dark and Daisuke stuttered at the same time,while their dad and grandfather just nodded in agreement,but Emiko had a shine in her eyes,which freaked me out a bit.I let the thought pass and sat down for dinner, where we started a conversation, and Daisuke and I headed back upstairs to go to bed,and Dark slept on the couch there was no spare room,so Daisuke and I ended up sharing the top part of his bunk bed,the bottom part being occupied by his desk. We slept at the edges of the bed,as far away from each other as we could, nervous. After a while it got really cold,so I couldn't fall asleep. Daisuke must have heard my shaking breaths and felt my shivering because he came over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist, so I laid my head on his chest,falling asleep in a few seconds. The next morning, I woke up at around half eleven in the morning. Luckily it was a weekend. I stretched my arms, accidentally poking Daisuke and waking him up.

"S-Sorry for waking you."

I stuttered, apologising.

"I-It's okay, I was probably going to wake up soon anyway."

He said, brushing off my apology, smiling.

After shooing Daisuke out of the room and after getting changed, I let Daisuke back in and headed downstairs, in some of Emiko's old clothes from when she was my age,which were cute.I could smell eggs and bacon coming from the kitchen, so I sat down at the table with Daisuke's dad and picked up a conversation about the Niwa family, and I learned about Daisuke's past a small bit.I started to get worried, because Daisuke hadn't come down yet, so I headed back up. Daisuke, who had been running down the stairs, bumped into me, and we fell in a pile on the bottom of the stairs. I landed on my stomach, and Daisuke was on top of me,so I groaned.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Aoko-san!"

Daisuke apologised, getting off of me and helping me up.

"It's okay, Daisuke. I'm probably still a bit weak anyway."

Carefully walking over to my crutches, I headed home after saying goodbye to the Niwa family. Daisuke offered to talk me home, but I declined. It took me an hour to get home, and when I did, I was exhausted. My bandaged leg felt like it would collapse when I reached the front door, and I fuddled around for my house keys, struggling with my crutches.

"Having trouble?"

I turned around suddenly, to see who had spoken, which caused me to fall to the ground, moaning.

"You okay?"

Satoshi asked, his blue hair brushing my cheek as he helped me up.

"T - Thanks, Satoshi."

"No problem."

He replied, looking at me.

"Wh - What is it?"

I asked, blushing slightly.

"You've . . . . got a cut on your cheek."

He whispered, his breath brushing past my ear as he opened the door and helped me inside.

"Where's the first aid kit?"

He asked as I sat down and he rummaged through the drawers.

"It's in the cupboard up there."

I pointed, gesturing to a cupboard right above where Satoshi was standing. He took the kit from the cupboard, took out a plaster, then he came over to me and placed it on my cheek, wiping off the blood with a wet towel. My phone began ringing in my pocket, but before I could answer it, Satoshi took it and answered.

"Hello?"

He questioned, talking into my phone.

"Saehara?"

He said,

"What do you want? And how'd you get Aoko's number?"

Saehara must have said something, because Satoshi's stiff figure loosened up a bit.

"Is that so?"

He whispered finally,

"I see. Well, you'd have to postpone it if you want Aoko to come. She's on crutches for the week."

He took the phone away from his ear as sound from the other end came through that sounded like,

"WHAT?! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY DEAR AOKO?!"

I smirked at his reaction, but Satoshi calmed him down. Then he closed the phone and gave it back to me.

"Th - Thank you, Satoshi. What did he want?"

"The class was planning on a trip out on the coast tomorrow, but when they heard that you were injured, they decided to postpone it until next week when you are better."

"Oh dear. They didn't have to do that."

"But they wanted to."

"I know, but. . . "

The doorbell rang, interrupting me, and Satoshi answered it.

"Saehara? What are you doing here?"

I got out of my seat, up on my crutches and out to the front door,

"Saehara-kun? Why are you here?"

"Oh, Aoko! I just came to check up on you! I heard you were hurt, so. . . . "

He trailed off, grinning as one of his hands scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Oh! Well, I appreciate the gesture, but the school nurse said I should be okay by the end of the week. I'll be up and running for the class trip, I promise!"

I smiled at him.

"Excellent! It's gonna be great fun, Aoko, I promise! It's a welcoming party, since you're the new girl and all."

"Oh, I can't wait!"

I said, excited.

"It's at seven o'clock at the pier. Make sure you're on time!"

"Of course."

He left, still grinning.

"I guess I'd better head back, then."

Satoshi said, heading out the door.

"Yeah. I'll see you later, then?"

"Sure. I'll drop by and check up on you."

"Thank you."

He left, closing the door behind him, and I whispered,

"Thank you, Satoshi."

I spent the week at home, not moving much so that I could heal more quickly. I used several spells to heal quickly too, but I didn't heal myself completely in case people found it strange. I sat around, bored for most of the day, until Satoshi came over and gave me that day's homework, spending several hours helping me with it, writing down the answers for me, but allowing me to solve them myself.

"Thank you, Satoshi."

I said as he left on Thursday evening,

"I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem, really."

He mumbled as he packed up both his and my homework. He took my homework into school so the teacher could correct it, as well.

"The teacher seems really impressed that you manage to get your homework done in your condition."

He pointed out as he put the bag on his back, which looked extremely heavy, but, in fact, was not as heavy as it seemed.

"Are you sure you'll be alright carrying that?"

I asked as I accompanied him to the front door

"I'll be fine."

He replied, looking back at me.

"And make sure you don't stress yourself."

He reminded. He said this every day, and I rolled my eyes, although I was joking.

"I promise I won't."

I said as he left, closing the door behind him.

The next evening, Satoshi helped me take off the bandage before he left, gripping my other hand as I squeezed it, the bandage hurting me as it was being taken off. I bit my lip to stop any sounds escaping, and when it was removed, I let out a breath I had been holding.

"It's looking much better,"

Satoshi said as he touched it, and I winced.

"Sorry,"

He apologised,

"Maybe we should leave it on for the weekend."

"Sounds like a good idea. Thank you, Satoshi."

"You've been thanking me all week. I don't think it's necessary."

He pointed out as he collected our books from the table.

"I know," I said "But I just feel like I need to say it."

"Well, you don't. I'm glad to help."

"But-"

"It's alright." He said, heading for the door.

"I'll see you on Monday."

"Yeah."

"Bye, Aoko."

"Bye, Satoshi."


	5. Chapter 5

The next Friday, everyone from our class, actually, Takeshi invited our entire year, which consisted of exactly 100 people, arrived at the pier on time. We borrowed several boats from the local boat rental shop, and then we were off. 'I have a bad feeling about this.' I thought as I got into a boat with Daisuke, Satoshi, Riku and Risa. Takeshi went in the boat that stayed beside us. At eight o'clock, we were pretty far from where we got on our boats, and I began to get worried. But I really started to panic when several of the other students began singing. I started thinking about what to do.

_'I can't tell them to stop, then they'll ask me why, and I can't just say "Oh, you'll just attract the mythical creatures that live at the bottom of the ocean." That would sound ridiculous.'_

And so, without saying anything, I simply sat by and waited for things to happen. No point in freaking out over something that might not even happen.

Who knows?

Maybe nothing would happen, and we'd all be safe.

But, thinking on it now..

Maybe that was just wishful thinking.

The tide seemed to pick up, and the waves rattled and whooshed past us as the singing continued, the moon shining brightly down on us.

"Whoa, what's that?!"

One male voice called, and I froze to the spot. The boat continued to rock, the waves soothing yet calling danger.

"Is that..."

Another voice trailed off, everyone now leaning over the side of the boats to get a glance at what was supposedly under the water.

The water seemed to part slightly in various parts of the area; it was hard to tell with only the light of the moon as a guide. But still, I could feel it.

Something...

Something was coming...!

Something wet and moist slid up my arm as I gripped the side of the boat, the wooden oar close to my hand. I tensed and froze, looking down at the thing that had grabbed me.

Heavenly blue eyes met my own emerald green and, despite my efforts, I found it hard to pull away. I could still feel that damp hand on my arm and, within a second, I felt water surround me. I don't know if I had let out a scream, but kicking and punching, I tried to loosen the monster's grip on me.

The mer, beautiful as she was with her blonde hair, blue eyes and green tail, hissed at me and released my arm with a swipe.

I let out a yelp as I pulled my arm back, staring at the three long scratches that now bled down the lower half of my arm.

The mer glared at me and hissed, her eyes narrowed before, a few seconds later, they widened in surprise.

I, on the other hand, paid no heed to it. I could feel my body shifting, changing, _adapting..._

Until, finally, I was one of them.

"P-Princess!"

The woman exclaimed, stuttering slightly and fidgeting.

Yeah, I was a Princess. A mer Princess.

Deal with it.

I glared slightly at the woman before giving her a heartwarming smile.

"It's alright,"

I whispered soothingly, not really offended by her actions; none of the mer recognised me in my human form,

"But I need your help. I need you to get the other mer away; they can't attack humans like this."

It wasn't so much a request as an order at this point, but the woman agreed nonetheless.

I sighed, wiping my forehead as I sat on the beach. The mer had been sent home and, upon finding the one or two humans that had been dragged under and knocked unconscious, we managed to save them and send them back home. Without, of course. giving any clue as to the existence of mer.

And, if anybody did suspect, my memory wipe should have erased all thoughts and memories of it anyway.

I seemed to be the only one on the beach as I sat on the sand, my knees up to my chest and my chin on my knees. The waves were soothing as I kept my eyes closed, simply focusing on the soothing sounds of the ocean. The scratch on my arm had stopped bleeding, but the scars were still there - they would be for a while to come, I think.

"So you're out here, huh?"

A voice called, and I jumped. I looked over to meet a pair of azure blue eyes, and my gaze softened. A soft _'thud'_ could be heard from beside me as the other person sat down.

"Yeah,"

I replied, still looking over at the ocean,

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in England, Kes? Looking after your sister? She just recently got her mer powers, right? Shouldn't you be teaching her?"

The boy grinned and turned to me, his eyes gleaming brightly in the dark night.

"I came to see you,"

He replied, looking over at the sea. The waves were close to reaching us, but I paid no heed to it. The sea, it was so soothing...

"Because it's been at least two years since I last saw you, and I finally had some time off."

I hummed in response, finally looking at him properly; he had grown up so much in the last two years, it was so hard to believe that it was actually him...

"You've gotten taller,"

I pointed out, a small smile coming to my lips,

"And you have a bit more muscle. Working out?"

I joked, a choked laugh coming from my mouth. Kes chuckled, stretching his legs out on the sand. His shorts were barely visible in the dark night, and his bare chest seemed to move slightly with his breathing.

"Nah, just the usual,"

He replied, getting serious now. His fingers trailed up one of my arms and sent a shiver down my spine.

"What about you? Still practicing magic?"

I nodded simply, sighing as the wind swept against my cheek.

"Yeah, a good bit. Gotta stay fit, right?"

Being a mage and a mer Princess were only two of the many sides to me, though...

There weren't many people that knew that, though.

"It's... It's tough..."

I finally admitted, curling in on myself,

"But I'm getting along okay. I have friends who accept me.. for what they know of me, that is."

Kes only nodded in response, wrapping one of his cold arms around my shoulder. I shivered but leaned into his touch, glad to have someone to comfort me, even if only for a little while.

Kes, although he had a human form, was, in fact, a mer. Well, half-mer. His mother had been mer while his father was a human, so he had the best of both worlds, in a sense. It had been two years since I had last seen him; in England, no less. I had done and seen so much since then...

Truly matured, I guess.

Aoko's P.O.V.

"And?"

I asked as I stood up from the sand, wiping down my faded jeans and taking out the creases in my tank top,

"I guess that if you're here to visit, you'd like a place to stay, right?"

An embarrassed blush came to Kes's cheeks and I giggled, stretching out my hand to help him up. He took it, stepping up with ease and stood beside me with a grin.

"Then,"

He began, grinning at me brightly and cheekily,

"Let's go, shall we?"

I nodded, letting a bright smile come to my lips.

"Yeah!"

I exclaimed,

"Let's go!"

"Good morning, Aoko-chan!"

A chirpy, high-pitched voice called and I jolted awake, blinking the sleep out of my eyes. Sitting upright I gazed around, chocolate brown eyes meeting mine.

"R...Risa...?"

I asked sleepily, wiping my eyes as I stared at the girl. She smiled and nodded, taking one of my hands in hers.

"We came to say hello! Well, after what happened last night, we never saw you after! But Hiwatari-kun said he saw you, so we decided to visit!"

"We...?"

I questioned, cocking my head to the side in confusion; there was only Risa in the room...

"Of course! Saehara-kun, Riku, Niwa-kun, Hiwatari-kun and myself!"

I nodded slowly, trying to process the information in my tired state.

"Hiwatari-kun.. is here..?"

I asked, trying to stifle a yawn. Risa giggled and simply nodded her head, dragging me out of bed.

"Of course, silly! He wanted to see how you were doing!"

"Right..."

"Oh, by the way, Aoko..."

Risa trailed off, and I raised an eyebrow in confusion; what was with her?"

"Who's the boy downstairs? He seemed rather... irritated.."

Ah. Oops.

"A-Ah,"

I stuttered,

"That's Kes... He's a bit... _grumpy..._ around strangers."

I laughed nervously, slipping fully out of bed and out of the room with Risa in tow. We quietly stepped down the stairs and into the kitchen where the others awaited us.

All eyes met mine and I couldn't help but feel anxious. Letting out a nervous laugh I stuttered,

"Th-Thank you for coming to visit, but I'm fine, really."

Nobody seemed convinced, and I suppose the scratches on my arm didn't help. Kes had bandaged it up, I noticed - probably while I had slept - but it still stung.

Come to think of it...

"You came into my room and bandaged my arm while I slept?"

I demanded, stomping over to the boy and poking him on the chest. He had taken a boy-ish t-shirt from my wardrobe and was still wearing his shorts, his hair tussled and damp - he had obviously just come back from a swim.

"Maybe,"

He grinned,

"But you needed it to be cleaned. And, well, you were asleep, so..."

He trailed off, but that sparkle in his eyes never left.

"Creeper."

I huffed, crossing my arms on my chest. This seemed to amuse the others as small smiles adorned them, even those of the seemingly cold-hearted Hikari boy.

"Tea, anyone?"

I asked, and four hands rose. I smiled slightly and nodded, the others sitting down comfortably on the couch and surrounding seats as I headed to the kettle, boiling the water. Somebody turned on the TV, a news programme coming up with an interesting announcement. I couldn't help but let a small smile come to my lips as I listened to the announcement, preparing the cups of tea. The entire time, I could feel a pair of eyes on me - a piercing crystal blue, no doubt...

"The infamous Phantom Thieves Precious and Dark will make another appearance at the National Museum tonight at seven o'clock. Both claim to be stealing the newly-donated item, the "Angel's Tear". The police forces will be crowding the museum tonight, they claim, to catch the thieves."

_Sure they will,_ I thought as I poured the water into the four cups, _Like they've caught us so many other times... not._

"Are you sure you'll be alright, Aoko?"

The same voice asked me for the third time that night as I walked ahead to the museum. I rubbed my temples before looking over at Kes, smiling slightly.

"I'll be fine,"

I told him,

"No need to worry about me so much."

"But-"

"I'll be okay!"

I assured, grinning now,

"And if I'm not, you can give out to me later. Deal?"

Kes grinned then.

"Deal."

He agreed, shaking my hand as if it was an official agreement. I sighed, snapping my fingers and, as the sound echoed through the air, my hair changed, my wings sprouted, and my eyes glowed pink.

"Then, I'll be off!"

I exclaimed, squeezing Kes's hand before leaping into the air flying off.


	6. Chapter 6

Aoko's P.O.V.

The museum was, as expected, completely crowded with police. Not a single nook nor cranny was left without somebody on patrol, guards on standby all over the place. Inspector Saehara was waiting at the art piece, waiting for either my or Dark's arrival;

Or, perhaps, both.

Well, whichever he was awaiting for, it was me he would get. Some policemen whistled as the clock got closer and closer to the alocated time, and by a minute to all was silent as people awaited my arrival.

"Don't let a single person past the security we've set up; infra-red sensors and lasers should keep Precious and Dark at bay, but be on your guard at all times, men!"

Inspector Saehara informed, and all guards came to attention, standing up straight and saluting the man in charge.

"Yes, sir!"

They all echoed in unison, and as the clock chimed with the arrival of a new hour, I snapped my fingers. The lights instantly went out, catching the attention of all of the guards in the room. The artefact, a small crystal piece of art, glinted slightly even in the darkness of the room, making a small smirk escape my lips.

"Ready or not,"

I cooed inaudibly to the police,

"Here I come. Game start!"

"Looks like I've stolen yet another piece of art!"

I exclaimed with a grin as I stood upon the glass case of the artefact, Inspector Saehara glaring at me,

"And now I shall take my leave! Ta-ta, officers!"

I giggled, wings sprouting from my back and scattering feathers everywhere as I leaped up, through one of the open windows of the museum, and slipped up into the fresh cold air.

The air blew against my face as I sucked in a breath of oxygen, casting my gaze down at the old museum. The lights of the wonderful city buildings lit up the ground like fireflies decorating the air.

A shrill scream filled the air, making me jump with a fright as I scanned the area quickly. Who on Earth had screamed so sharply?

With concern and curiosity I landed in a nearby alley, where the sound appeared to have come from. The alley was dark and shrouded in mystery, no hobos, drug addicts or drunkards in sight.

A truly abandoned hallway.

Or, at least, I thought.

"Aah!"

A feminine voice exclaimed, and my eyes dropped down to the floor at my feet.

Where they fell upon the sight of a beautiful, blonde 25-year-old girl.

Dead.

Blood pooling around her like water after it spilled from a cup, her eyes closed and her lips open slightly from her scream.

What stuck out the most to me, though,

Was the two puncture marks on her neck, blood pouring from the wound freely.

"Show yourselves!"

I exclaimed,

"Vampires!"

It was the only explanation for what had happened;

And yet, at the sight of who appeared from the shadows, with blood-red eyes and lightweight footsteps, my eyes widened.

"J-Jonathan...? Simon...?"

The wind blew more heavily now, moving my hair from my back, leaving my wings to tussle slightly.

Jonathan, I'd known him for a long time. Since I was eight years old, he had been a dear friend of mine; always looking after me, always helping me.

Simon, on the other hand, he had only been 'Changed' a few weeks ago. I had discovered him while visiting a cemetary, where he had risen from his grave. Proof that he would be able to survive on his own, should he need to.

His friends had been there to watch him Rise; Clary, Jace, Alec...

Even Magnus, if I recalled correctly.

"Simon."

I recognised him, nodding my head curtly in response to his presence.

"Aoko."

He addressed, copying my actions, a small glint in his eyes. A familiar, friendly glint.

Although, judging by their movements and their fidgeting, they appeared to have been out hunting.

"Aoko!"

I heard somebody call; and it wasn't Simon.

Nor was it Jonathan.

My body froze as I turned my gaze to the bluenette who was dashing toward me, his hair slightly dishevelled and his breath a bit ragged.

Although, fortunately, he was alone. No police to help him.

No friends to get hurt.

"That idiot!"

I hissed, sending a glare at the blue-haired boy as he neared, stopping dead in his tracks only feet away as he began to realise that we had 'visitors'.

"Friends of yours?"

He asked monotonely, looking over at the two for a brief moment before averting his attention back to me, his icy blue orbs meeting my emerald green ones.

"Somewhat."

I replied, catching the gaze of Simon. He seemed to not want to speak to the new human who had appeared, for one reason or another.

Although, Jonathan...

He seemed absolutely ecstatic at the arrival of the human, his eyes beginning to glow a tinted, bloody red.

"Jonathan,"

I growled, trying to grab the man's attention,

"Don't you dare."

Jonathan then seemed to switch his gaze - and his target - from Satoshi.

To me, instead.

I readied myself to fight off the vampire, my heels digging into the pavement for grounding and my heart pounding a hundred miles a minute.

Simon, seeming to catch on as to what was happening, honestly did his best. Managing to pin Jonathan to the ground he snarled at him, fangs protruding, to try and calm the older one down.

Jonathan, however, seemed to disagree. He snapped back at Simon, fangs almost biting into the nape of the black-haired vampire, making him jump back in an attempt to protect himself.

This moment is the chance Jonathan took to lunge toward me, his hands outstretched as if to grab me by the shoulders.

Looking back on it now, I wish that was what had happened...

It probably would have prevented the entire chain of memories and events that were to follow.

Instead of sharp hands grabbing onto my shoulders, a masculine gasp echoed through the air as my eyes, which had been closed, fluttered open.

My mouth opened to let out a scream, but the sound became choked as I stared at the scene before me. My fingers trembled as anger began to boil in my veins, my eyes narrowing into a glare as I snarled.

"Let go of him!"

I exclaimed, grabbing hold of Jonathan's shoulders with an iron grip. His blood-red eyes averted their gaze from the nape of the bluenette, who was paler than usual - if that was at all possible. His fangs lodged themselves out of the blue-haired boy's neck with a sickening, slick sound, gleaming with red, oozing liquid.

Blood.

Simon and I both charged at the elder man, trying to get him as far away from Satoshi. The man, instead of fighting, left with a short snarl, leaving Simon, Satoshi and I in the darkness.


	7. Chapter 7

Aoko's P.O.V.

With the sudden release of Jonathan's grip, Satoshi's unconscious body fell to the ground with a silent yet loud 'thump'.

I stumbled to my feet, almost slipping on the pool of blood from the earlier blonde woman, who was a deathly, ghostly pale now - probably dead.

Kneeling beside the unconscious boy I could feel tears prick at the corners of my eyes;

Jonathan had... he had...

"Soul Transfer..."

I whispered, at which Simon seemed to freeze from the corner of my eye. In a split second he was by my side, a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"He took enough blood to cause a Soul Transfer!"

I finally choked out, my knees soaked a bloody red from the earlier blonde woman.

Satoshi, fortunately, was still breathing; but barely.

"Cura."

I whispered simply, a small pink tint of magic flowing from my fingertips to the wound at the bluenette's throat, the wounds healing over instantly, becoming as small as scabs and, soon, scars.

The boy seemed to stir in his sleep, a small moan escaping his lips as the wounds healed over.

"Oh, Simon..."

I whispered, my fingers digging into the fabric of the bluenette's shirt,

"What'll we do...?"

Simon, as if knowing that I needed more comforting then, wrapped his arms around me from behind, letting out a small sigh - despite the fact that he didn't even need oxygen. So, technically, he didn't need to sigh, either.

"We'll..."

He trailed off, his hands clenching into fists for a small second as his arms remained looped around my shoulders, before they unfurled again,

"We'll figure this out. I promise."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Well, I can say that the awakening wasn't the prettiest; that's for damn sure.

The wind suddenly began to perk up as Satoshi's eyes opened, no longer their lovely icy blue, but a bloody red. A low growl seemed to emit from his throat, his grip on my hand tightening as he blinked, sitting up straight. His eyes scanned me, up and down once, before landing on my neck and not averting their gaze. A small gulp escaped my throat before I cocked my head to the side, closing my eyes tight as my hair fell from my neck to slide down my back.

Simon's grip on my shoulder tightened, his eyes on me; I could feel them.

"You're sure?"

He asked, and I simply nodded, my eyes still closed.

"It's all I can do. Soul Transfers, they...

They can't be reversed."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Simon's grip tightened on my shoulder as chalk-white fangs pierced my neck, a pale hand gripping onto my arm - Satoshi's - as my blood and energy were sapped from me. Black dots began to dance in my vision by the time the feeding had finished, and I fell unconscious into ice cold arms. The last thing I remember were blood-red eyes returning back to icy blue, and a face full of sorrow, disappointment and absolute horror.

"Don't... be sad..."

I managed to whisper, blood dripping from my neck down to my shoulder; I could feel it slide down my arm,

"It's... okay..."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

I woke up the next morning, my eyes fluttering open as sun cracked through the window. I winced as I sat up, picking at the bandage around my neck.

I shot up out of bed like a bullet as my memories flowed back to me, taking in a ragged gasp as I collapsed to the floor, a hand at my neck.

"Whoa there, take it easy!"

I heard Simon exclaim as he came to my side, wrapping an arm under mine to help me up; he hadn't been there before...

Vampire speed and hearing sure had their perks...

"But... Satoshi-"

"He's fine,"

Simon interrupted, a small frown on his face as he focused on setting me back down on the bed, helping me sit with a bit of effort.

An odd moment of silence passed as he brushed my cheek with his ice cold hand, his gaze so intense on me I felt it could burn a hole through me. He backed away with a shuffle, his cheeks slightly less pale than before.

"So,"

He murmured after a moment,

"How are you feeling?"

"B-Better..."

I stuttered,

"Wh-What happened? How's Satoshi?"

Simon seemed to avert his gaze for a second before looking back at me, his face unreadable.

"He's alright..."

He finally said,

"It took a while to explain to him what was going on, and he's taking it a bit rough. He hates himself for what he did to you, you know."

A small blush came to my cheeks at Simon's point, and I simply nodded.

"Y-Yeah, I know... But-"

"He knows that he needed to do it,"

Simon interrupted, his voice icy and cold,

"But he's still feeling pretty crap because of it."

That, I could understand.

Without another word I stood up again, making my way downstairs. Simon said nothing, simply following me with his hands stuffed into his jeans pockets, shuffling lightly as he stepped down the stairs after me. Satoshi sat there in the living room, his head in his hands as he sat on the green leather couch that faced the flat-screen TV.

"Satoshi..."

I whispered as I neared him, placing a hand on his shoulder. He instinctively froze, refusing to look at me, his body rigid and cold. I sighed, sitting down beside him, trying to be strong.

"It's not you,"

I tried to convince him,

"It's just the vampire living inside you."

It was true; that was all a Soul Transfer was. When a human was deprived of enough blood, the soul of a vampire - if lingering nearby - could take the opportunity of vulnerability to make the human their 'host'. To attend to their every will and need when necessary; a body for the departed vampires of the world.

Satoshi, however, refused to listen. He simply sighed and turned his head away from me; blocking me out...

I let out a huff, tossing my hands into the air before standing up. If he wasn't going to listen, I wasn't going to try and convince him.

He'd come around eventually.

Hopefully.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

"He'll come around, you know,"

Simon murmured as he stood in the kitchen, leaning back against the wooden door frame casually. He had been enhanced since Turned, most certainly; paler, perfect skin, darker more alluring eyes, wonderful soft lips and a handsome smile. Not that he hadn't it all before...

Just imagine the most handsome guy you know, and multiply that by ten.

You're still not even close.

"I suppose,"

I sighed, stirring a metal spoon in my cup of tea,

"But only when he needs to feed. Then he'll be in trouble; imagine what could happen!"

I exclaimed, gripping the spoon tightly now as my knuckles paled, my breathing slightly choked.

Only the touch of a cold hand on my shoulder brought me down from my high rage, my shoulders shaking slightly.

"It'll be alright,"

Simon tried to comfort, tightening his grip on my shoulder,

"I'll help. We'll get through this, and so will he. Nothing is going to happen."

"You better be right, Simon Lewis,"

I scoffed, glaring at the boy out of the corner of my eye,

"Or else you'll be in trouble. But, while you're here.."

I went on, heading over to the fridge and opening it, a blast of cool air hitting my face,

"I'm supposing you'd like a blood bag?"

()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"So?"

I finally asked, sitting back down at the kitchen table,

"Do you think it'll take him long to get over it?"

Simon, on the other hand, sighed as he brushed a hand through his black hair.

"Who knows,"

He shrugged,

"But I have a feeling that if he has you there to support him, it shouldn't take long at all."

A pause.

"You do have that effect on people."

I blinked, cocking my head to the side in confusion, my cup of tea in hand.

"What do you mean?"

I asked, and Simon sighed again.

"What I mean is,"

He went on, leaning over the side of the island so that his face was only inches from mine, the heavy smell of coppery blood on his breath,

"You manage to give people the courage and strength they need to keep going; to be able to live another day of their lives to the fullest. At least,"

He trailed off for a moment, his cheeks less pale,

"That's how you helped me. And I'm sure it's been the same for others, too."

Another moment of odd silence passed between the two of us, the tick-tock of the clock the only audible sound before I coughed, and whispered,

"I sure hope you're right, Simon.

Otherwise, who knows how this could turn out.

Somebody could probably end up dead."


	8. Chapter 8

Aoko's P.O.V.

"It's gonna be tough,"

I admitted as we walked down the street to the large building that was the school, in our uniforms,

"But I'll help! We can get through this!"

Satoshi simply grunted in response, carrying his small backpack over one shoulder as he silently moved, not making many sounds.

He wasn't in the best of moods this morning since I had dropped by his house to pick him up.

It was 8 o'clock and the town clock tower was chiming loudly, signalling the start of a new hour.

_Ding-dong, ding-dong_

The sound did nothing to lighten anyone's mood, however. Satoshi was still mulling over the fact of what he had done - what he could possibly do in the future - and I had been here trying to console him all morning.

"You'll be fine."

I mumbled one last time before running on ahead to the school, my bag wrapped around both shoulders as I skipped on ahead a bit. A small smile managed to creep onto my lips as I spotted the Harada twins, waving at them and exclaiming 'good morning' to them loudly from a few feet away.

They smiled in response, waving and echoing sounds of 'good morning' and 'how are you?'

I sprinted up to them and enveloped the twins in a tight hug, beaming brightly now.

However, I managed to spare one last glance over at Satoshi, who was frowning deeply; almost as if he was deep in his train of thought.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Aoko-chan!"

Risa Harada's voice rang out, a hand flying to and fro in front of my face maniacally, causing me to blink back to attention.

"E-Eh? Ah, s-sorry, I kinda blanked out there..."

A sigh from my right, and Riku's giggle echoed throughout the classroom.

"Trust you to blank out,"

She joked, nudging me in the side,

"But seriously, are you okay?"

"Eh? A-Ah,"

I stuttered,

"I-I'm fine. Just... thinking..."

"Hmm?"

Risa's high-pitched voice chirped in as she zoned in on the conversation,

"What about?"

Silence seemed to pass all of us as I thought of a reply, settling with,

"Just... stuff. Nothing you need to worry about."

At least, not yet. And hopefully not anytime soon.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Aokooooo~"

Risa's voice rang out again about half an hour later, in our second free class of the day;

Were none of the teachers bothered to come in for classes today?

"Hmm?"

I voiced, perking my head up a little,

"What is it, Risa?"

"Are you joining the Planning Committee?"

I batted my eyelashes in confusion, cocking my head to the side.

"Planning Committee... for what?"

I asked, and Risa simply laughed, her eyes gleaming with happiness as she looked at me.

"Why, the school dance of course! Every year our school hosts a dance, and everybody must attend. Our class has been put in charge of preparations this year!"

... Oh.

"A-Ah, I see,"

I stuttered, mildly shocked,

"So, what exactly do you want me to do?"

"Why, we need you to help with the sewing, of course!"

...Wait, what?

"The... sewing?"

I squeaked; did people not get their own dresses and tuxes anymore?

"Of course! The girls in our class have been given the jobs of organisation and sewing! So we'll be making all of the costumes!"

Wait... costumes?

"Costumes?"

I voiced,

"Is it not a normal dance?"

"No way!"

Riku joined in the conversation, a grin on her face,

"This dance is gonna be amazing! You see,"

She went on, her eyes gleaming with determination,

"We all decided this year that the dance is going to have a fantasy theme! Sooooo~"

She chimed, along with her sister,

"Everyone is going to look amazing!"

I laughed nervously then, raising an eyebrow in amazement,

"A-Ah... I see..."

()()()()()()()()()()()()

About half an hour later, all students in our class had been assigned to certain jobs over the next two weeks; the deadline until the dance.

I, along with half of the girls in our class, had been assigned to sewing.

Dresses, tuxes, lolita, princess, you name it, it was on the list!

I was curious as to whether or not we would get it done in time...

But we had to be positive!

If we were positive and had good spirits, we'd get it done in no time!

"Ah, Risa, pass me the yellow thread, will you?"

"Yes, yes, I got it! Here!"

"Waaah! Don't toss it around the room!"

"Ah... sorry..."

I sighed, getting back to sewing on the machine I had been assigned; frills, lace and bows adorned the lolita-like dress I was currently making;

I wonder who it was for...

I hadn't been told; only handed patterns, design ideas and colours.

"How's it going over there, Aoko?"

One of the others girls - Ritsuko, Risa's best friend - hollered over to me from the other side of the large room, a bright smile on her face.

"Fine!"

I called back,

"I'm just curious as to who this is for..."

"Ah, that one?"

Ritsuko asked, and I nodded.

"I think that's Risa's!"

...Eh?

()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Ah, Niwa-kun! Over here, over here!"

I exclaimed, waving over to the red-haired boy and Takeshi, his companion, as they neared us in the cafeteria. They both passed us a grin, coming over and sitting across from us - Riku, Risa, Satoshi and I - at the table.

"Good afternoon, Aoko-san!"

Daisuke exclaimed, a beaming, bright smile on his face.

"Good afternoon!"

I exclaimed with as much enthusiasm, biting into the sandwich I had brought for lunch.

Yum, ham and cheese.

"Ah!"

I exclaimed, reaching down to grab a bottle out of my schoolbag,

"Hiwatari-kun, this is yours!"

Satoshi and everybody else at the table raised an eyebrow at me, but the bluenette took the bottle anyway; silver in colour, the bottle was like the ones you'd see athletes use - non-transparent, plastic ones.

Everybody seemed to lose interest in the bottle once they realised that there was nothing special about the appearance, and got stuck into their own conversatons; Risa talking with Riku, and Daisuke with Takeshi.

Satoshi, ignoring the group, took a small swig of the drink in the plastic container, his eyes widening slightly in shock and surprise as he placed the drink back down on the table lightly, a small trail of red liquid oozing from his lips, which he wiped away with the napkin he held, folding it in half to hide the substance afterwards.

He eyed me warily and curiously as I met his gaze, shrugging slightly; it was the least I could do - supply him with what he now needed.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Hey, Aoko-chan?"

I heard Risa ask from across the table, which was full of patterns, scraps of paper, fabrics and other equipment. I perked my head up at her sudden input, and met her gaze.

"What is it, Risa?"

I asked, cocking my head to the side in confusion as I sat at one of the many sewing machines; Risa was never really this quiet and questioning.

"Your family..."

Risa went on, looking down at the pieces of fabric she was hand-sewing together,

"You never really talk about them; everybody has noticed, even other classmates who don't know you that well...

And, umm..."

She stuttered, pausing for a moment before continuing,

"I was wondering... why exactly you don't mention them..."

A small, sad smile crossed my lips as I focused on hemming the remainder of the fancy, elaborate skirt I had been assigned to making - Beauty and the Beast themed, it seemed - before replying to Risa, who I could feel looking at me with curious eyes.

"I..."

I began, placing the scissors in my hand to get rid of the raw edges and loose threads of the fabric,

"My family...

I don't really have any."

The entire room seemed to quieten after that, everybody else falling silent as the atmosphere became quite awkward.

"Heeeey! We came here for a visit!"

A loud, booming voice interrupted as the door to the classroom slid open with a bang, catching everyone's attention.

There stood Takeshi with Daisuke in Satoshi standing behind him, the red-head looking nervous and embarrassed while the bluenette held a poker-face.

Takeshi, on the other hand, was beaming brightly like a child.

"Eh? What is it with this awkward silence?"

He asked us as the three of them neared, and my small, sad smile continued to play at my lips.

"Just... explaining about my family..."

I whispered, taking the next piece of fabric and folding over the edge for the hem.

"Ho! Sounds interesting!"

Takeshi exclaimed as he plopped right down on the floor, his legs crossed, as he looked up at me expectantly.

"It's not often you get to hear Aoko-chan speak about herself! And? What about them?"

The room covered itself in awkward silence once again as I went on to machine sew the hem before speaking,

"I was just saying..."

I choked on my words before continuing,

"That I don't really have one...

My parents, you see... They died when I was very young. So I've had to fend for myself for a long time now.

I don't... I don't really remember my family much.

According to the doctors who found me, I suffered from a sort of amnesia; to **protect me** from something, they said, but...

Nobody knows what."


	9. Chapter 9

Aoko's P.O.V.

The next few days passed by in a blur, as if they had all melded together - I couldn't tell one day's events from another's!

Finally, a week had passed, and it was soon enough that the dance was coming up. Only another week or so to go, and people were even busier than before!

I had finally gotten around to making bits and pieces of my own costume - I had something rather simple yet elegant in mind.

My own interpretation of a dress for Juliet Capulet, from that classic play Romeo&Juliet by William Shakespeare.

I had always felt attached to the character, and now was my time to show it!

The dress I had in mind was a simple, white dress that fell down past my ankles and would flow behind me as I walked. Small, plastic angel wings would be attached to my back, my hair done up and make-up on my face - only a light bit, though.

It was a good idea, I thought, so I went with it.

"It looks good so far, Aoko!"

Riku commented as she passed me by, giving the dress I was making a fleeting glance as she dashed over to Risa, handing her spools upon spools of thread, and a smile came to my face.

"Thanks, Riku.."

I murmured, getting back to work.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

The dance finally arrived, everybody dressed up in their own fancy gear that had been commissioned. The local newspaper and media gangs were here to report on the dance - every school in the area had joined up for the one dance - so it was rather large!

There were more than two thousand students present, I would wager, what with at least 10 schools bunched up into the building. I had spent a good while at Riku and Risa's beforehand - about two hours - getting into our costumes, doing each other's make-up and hair, and giving each other an overall look-over.

I stood near the door of the building, fully dressed as Juliet, watching the others dance to their heart's content. Riku danced with Daisuke, both of them grinning like little school children as Daisuke tried his best not to step on the older Harada's toes.

Risa, on the other hand, was dancing quite merrily with Takeshi, of all people! Takeshi seemed quite composed in comparison to how he usually acted, but he still had that camera of his slung around his shoulder.

I was perfectly content leaning againt a wall of the dance hall, watching everybody else enjoying themselves; my dress swayed slightly at my ankles and extended at the back to the floor, a stunning pure white to match my dark brown hair and glittering green eyes.

"It's nice, isn't it?"

A voice asked, and I jumped slightly in response as I turned my head to the stranger, who was dressed in formal black clothes with gold trailings and a half mask on his face - although, his sky blue hair was a dead giveaway.

"Yeah,"

I agreed, nodding my head,

"It's lovely.."

The lights had been dimmed to create a 'romantic' atmosphere, most of the music chosen for the night was nice and soothing, but near the end of the night the rave would begin, punk and rock music of the age blasting through the large speakers at the front of the hall.

"Aokooooooo~"

A voice screeched from across the hall and I raised my head, the figure of Risa Harada coming into view as she tagged Takeshi along by the hand; he didn't seem to mind much, though.

"Oh! Hello there, Hiwatari-kun!"

She greeted as she spotted the boy, and she perked up as she noticed his attire.

"Oh! Like Romeo!"

She giggled, while the bluenette nodded curtly and responded.

"That was the idea..."

He mumbled monotonely, and Risa giggled.

"Then, you should dance with your Juliet!"

She laughed, grabbing one of my hands and entwining it with Satoshi's, forcing us out onto the dance floor as the song that had been playing began to end, leaving way for a new soft song to start.

A small blush covered my cheeks as I began to pull away.

"I-I'm sorry,"

I apologised,

"Y-You know how Risa can be, a-always trying to be matchmaker..."

I loosened my hand from Satoshi's grip,

"I-I don't think I-"

I tried once more to fully pull away, but the boy's grip on my hand tightened as he wrapped his arm around my waist, a rather plain expression on his face - although, looking closer, I could see a small smirk beginning to form.

"Just one dance,"

He whispered, and it sounded like more of a suggestion than a plea,

"That should keep Harada-san happy for a bit, I should think."

I nodded slightly, fixing my posture as his arm wrapped tighter around my waist, moving his feet to take the lead in the dance, which I gratefully followed - even though I knew well how to dance, it had been long since I had done so, and I was probably a bit rusty.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

The dance went surprisingly quickly, in what felt like only a minute, and I was actually quite sad to leave the bluenette's grip and head back to the wall we had been previously leaning against. Although, out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn I caught a blur of white clothes and long, blonde hair...

I froze.

"What's wrong?"

I heard Satoshi ask from beside me, as he noticed my stiff body.

"Is, uhm..."

I stuttered, trying to get words out,

"Is Krad... really gone?"

Satoshi froze at that, following my gaze to where I had been staring - a door that led off to an empty hallway.

"You think he's here?"

He asked, and I nodded slightly, my mind tumbling; why would he be here?

"Should we evacuate everybody?"

I asked, grabbing Satoshi's arm to fully get his attention, but he shook his head in response.

"...No,"

He said simply, glaring at the door leading to where Krad possibly lay,

"Let's see how things play out. It might be nothing."

I nodded my head slightly, going by his word, but I couldn't help but switch my gaze back and forth between the dance and the empty hallway every now and then;

Why would he be here...?

"Hey, you know, Satoshi, I- mmph!"

I gasped as a hand wrapped around my mouth, my eyes widening in surprise as I was dragged off, my feet unable to grip the floor hard enough for me to stop.

"Leh mhe ghh!"

I tried to exclaim, but the gloved hand over my mouth muffled my voice, a small chuckle escaping the lips of the one dragging me away.

He had my hands trapped together as he dragged me along, turning me around so that he was directing me from behind, pushing me forward and gripping me tighter, making me wince.

I did happen to recall Satoshi noticing my absence, his eyes widening and his face paling ever so slightly as he spotted my captor, but...

Was it...?

"Krad! Let her go!"

My captor stopped steering me then, just at the door to another large classroom. He tightened his grip on my arms with one hand as they were held behind my back, keeping his hold on my mouth, too. He turned me to face toward the hallway we had passed, Satoshi standing there with his eyes as cold as ice, glaring daggers at Krad.

Krad smirked - a most bloodthirsty, cold look - as his blonde hair fell slightly in front of his face. It sent a shiver down my spine, from what I could see of him out of the corner of my eye, trying to keep my attention away from him and on something else - _anything _else.

"I think I'll hold onto her for a little while, Satoshi-sama,"

Krad sneered, his voice cold and sickeningly cruel,

"She is, after all, very important..."

Satoshi was as confused as I was at that statement, but glowered at Krad even heavier as I winced, being forced back off into the room we had been standing by.

"If you want her back,"

Krad's voice echoed down the hall,

"You're going to need help, Satoshi-sama. You, after all, are no match for me."


End file.
